#it felt like condi had made a really cool world but we only got to see a slither of it becuase it’s a mini campaign

[rodentjazz]

*out of breath, bloodied clothes, tears running down face* I finished apotheosis

[abundantchewtoys]

Homestuck Candy p24-27 (timeskip!)

Page 24

Wooooow.

Okay, as dark as the subject matter became, this was almost a reprieve from the previous action.

So, Terezi and John are both depressed. Terezi struggles with the same issues we heard John get more into. Of course, it's just a matter of question now whether this Terezi is in fact the same one that Meat John met. I'm inclined to say yes, as the Furthest Ring is supposed to be outside of timelines.

Thus that means she was able to hang on long enough to recover (via shaving cream and tobacco) from exhaustion. To meet up with John and have "a moment". Only to lose him in the end. :(

But even so, she would have hung on. In any case, I like how it delves further into the actual problem for John and Terezi. Their Ultimate Reward doesn't feel like one. I think John and Terezi share something, a feeling of enjoying the chase, the taste of adventure, I should say. But what could they find that fills this hole? Exploring Universe C together, maybe?

In any case, Aradia and Sollux have appointed themselves as part of Calliope's court. Or acolytes. I think Calliope might be the drive behind the narration of the Candy path, even if her personality doesn't leak through.

So, more information about what's she's doing here! She seems to be building up strength to rescue people from Dirk's influence. Now that Lord English is dead, she's found another one worthy of her opposition, someone that has too great an influence on too many innocent lives.

I mean, I remember I didn't 100% trust her in the Meat timeline, since in the end she still has an alien look on life. But it's a worthy cause, I would say.

It seems that Calliope has retreated, or at least, migrated to this timeline, up until she's ready to take over the narration of the Meat path.

This, together with John and Terezi's feeling that nothing is real anymore, is one of the most meta things to happen in these epilogues.

So, does that mean that the Postscriptum of Meat took place on Candy Earth C? And then, is that Davebot a ghost from the dreambubbles or not? ... Hey, in fact...

Does that mean that, every ghost of the dreambubbles was "saved" by Alt Calliope by moving them outside of canon, outside of Dirk's influence? Wow. It's like the theory that went around in late Act 6, that maybe the kids would move into blankspace to escape the influence of the Green Sun!

Now, Blaperile already theorized Vriska's ghost might end up on Earth C. It could happen. Though, if Vriska would survive the journey, wouldn't Davepeta and Lord English have as well? Maybe it only works on ghosts?

I mean, I'm pretty sure that the Feferi and Eridan making out in one of the previous pages were (alt) ghosts.

---

Page 25

Ooooooooh!!!!

I didn't know I needed Karkat the tortured grassroot rebel leader in my life, but here I am.

They're trying to get the Mother Grub to safety. I can see how it is THE most important asset fought over in this war. (And whatever propaganda Jane has going for her, this IS a war, she's just delusional about it.)

Jezus, the fate of that top analyst. It's like a Hunger Games thingy. Jake's just a figurehead to improve Jane's image at this point, while she doles out corporeal punishments...

Swifer Eggmop continues to be comedy gold.

The fact that bucket taboo is now blasé, hahahahahah.

And then.

The mystery arrival.

By all accounts I thought it would have been Vriska.

But Meenah? How did it even work, the fact that Lord English' server connects to Earth C? ... Okay, fair enough, he's fated to grow up on the planet in the future, and Candy Earth C is looking to be more and more like the timeline it'll happen in. But still.

Still.

Wow.

She's so supportive for a battle hardened Karkat, it's adorable!

His commanding her around does make me wonder... Are they good for each other as kismeses?????

Meenah is so punk, she doesn't really care she can't be in command, hahah.

It'll be a big shock for Jane to see Karkat got his grubby paws on an alternate Condesce though. That MIGHT hurt her image as well, or her self image. She's been influenced by Condy into this ruthless business persona, she just doesn't realize it. To see a version of Condesce reject her policies might be world shattering news.

Still unsure if we're going to see Vriska, Davepeta and LE land on this Earth as well. If so, how would LE even be able to be defeated, I mean... He would have survived a black hole and all prophecies thrown as his life. Outside of canon, but not powerless.

... Still, think of the irony.

John thought he had chosen to AVOID fighting Lord English by staying on Earth.

How do you expect to avoid him, when he's ALREADY HERE? :o)

---

Page 26

Wow.

Another powerful page.

The Candy path is really much more existential than I could've expected. And, it's very much more of a continuation of the Meat path than vice versa.

So, Meat John's car ended up sucked into the black hole after who knows how long, after he and Terezi zapped to Earth C.

And Candy John is here to find it, more questions asked than answered. Just like how the meteors sent all this anachronistic crap back into time, hurling to the Earth for people to ponder over, like Nanna's note to John in the joke book.

Wow, John.

I think it's good he's in the Troll Kingdom, he might be able to catch up to Karkat.

But... Really now.

If this means Vriska, Davepeta and Lord English will end up here, and only Dead-Jade, Davebot and Aradia escape back into "canon"... What is going to be everyone else's fate.

I mean, I don't think Adult Jade is going to open a portal just like Dead-Jade.

---

Page 27

wow.

that

I was always surprised before of every long timeskip.

But 10 years. TEN. YEARS.

Though it is cool to see their kids growing up, I'd say. Of course Vriska would be looking forward to her sixteenth birthday, it's the equivalent of 8 sweeps!

Seems that despite everything, Vriska and Tavros and Harry Anderson too can keep in touch right under Jane's nose.

It's all kinds of weird and awesome, to see a Vriska that's kind of balanced. You can see the influence Kanaya has on her Quite Clearly, when she emphasizes her words.

Karkat got an eyepatch - actually, seeing the role he fills, it's quite fitting. Karkat grew into an admirable, suave leader figure, who knew?

Calliope emphasizes again, that what happens on this Earth won't matter for canon. Though I wonder then, what her plan was, why she had to wait so long to leave.

From the Postscriptum, it seemed as if she devoured bodies to charge up, so why did it take so long, and whose did she eat? Other Space players like Kanaya, Porrim and Jade?

Meanwhile, Dave and Jade illicitly support the rebellion too! It's weird to see them be so awkward about their breakup, but at least they put that all besides them and focused on the bigger picture. And hey, Dave and Rose, and Maryam and Vantas, united in a rebellion against a condescending figure... Time really does repeat itself.

John still suffers from the feeling it all doesn't matter. But it's very intense to read all this. So, only when he's 44 does he do away with Terezi's picture.

And through it all, he has suffered from the same ennui and desolation he has felt since he came to Earth C. In the Meat timeline, he felt as if he let time pass him by. But we see now that, without a purpose, John is just as lost.

And Meenah and Karkat are an item now. Contrary to what seems to be the popular belief, I think they're not <3, but rather <3< or <>, but who even knows. No references were made to more ghosts arriving on Earth C, which merits attention.

It's just such a strange world, both alien and so far removed from Homestuck, and in other ways, exactly what the doctor ordered.

It was cool to get a visual description of Harry Anderson. I’m looking forward to the first image I’ll come across from him.

Now I’d just like one from Tavros, to get an idea in what manner his appearance differs from John.

[nevermindthewind]

when the whole world fits inside of your arms

(formerly named come with me because I am that indecisive)

It was early on a Sunday morning, their internal clocks refusing to let them get up anytime after 6:00. However as their usual alarm had yet to officially wake them up, Wes and Laurel were still in bed, using the little bit of extra time to toss around yet another set of baby names.

“What about Ava?”

Laurel immediately crinkled her nose.

“Veto,” she said with a shake of her head. “Ava Braverman was the girl who made my life a living hell all through high school. I don’t want to think of her every time I look at our daughter.”

“Okay, fair enough,” said Wes, stretching his arms above his head.  He thought for a moment. “How about Emily?”

“Emily Galvin was Ava Braverman’s best friend.”

Wes laughed as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close and relishing the fact that they actually had extra time in bed before the chaos of their day began.

“Okay. But if we don’t come up with a name soon, this poor kid’s gonna be going to kindergarten without a name.”

He had a point.  Ever since they found out they were having a girl they had been tossing names back and forth, but none of them seemed to fit.  They knew the middle name, but were lost when it came to the first. Every name Laurel offered reminded Wes of an awful foster sibling and every name Wes thought of was the name of someone who had worked with Laurel’s father. Or was a bitch in high school, apparently.  They’d asked everyone else for name suggestions, but that didn’t help either. Connor and Oliver both only liked names with crazy complicated spelling, and Asher’s suggestions were all too white, too cutesy for their taste. Michaela’s suggestions  were all the names of her favorite CEOs and politicians, and Laurel was not about to name her child Condoleezza (“But you can call her Condi!”) Gibbins-Castillo.

So here they were, eight months pregnant and nowhere near close to having a name picked out for their little girl.

“I still like Sofia,” said Laurel thoughtfully, running her hand over her belly.

“Sophie was the name of my foster sister who threatened to kill me with a butter knife,” Wes reminded her.

Laurel sighed.

“Right.”

They tossed out a couple other names, but to no avail. Laurel was just about to suggest they table it again when the sound of little footsteps caught her attention.

“I think our alarm clock is finally up,” she said, smiling over at Wes.  Sure enough, the door to their room opened the tiniest bit to reveal two sleepy little eyes and a impish smile.

“Mama? Are you awake?” she whispered.

“Yeah, Mija,” Laurel fake whispered back, “Come here.” She smiled as she waved her daughter in.

Josie needed no further instructions, taking a running start and jumping on the bed, rousing a laugh out of both Wes and Laurel.  She nudged her way in between them and got under the blankets before looking up and addressing her parents.

“Buenos dias, Mama. Buenos dias, Papa,” she said, accepting a kiss from both her parents before leaning over and kissing Laurel’s very visible bump. “Morning, baby.”

Laurel looked up at Wes and jutted out her bottom lip, the cuteness of Josie kissing her sister almost too much to handle.

It never ceased to amaze her how well Josie had taken to being a big sister.  For six years she had been the only baby, the only one vying for not only her parent’s attention but the rest of the K5. She had all of them wrapped around her finger the moment she was born, and she knew it.  So Laurel had been a little nervous about introducing the idea of another kid.  But as soon as they told Josie she was going to be a big sister it had been nothing but “Do you think the baby will want to play this with me?” and “Can we buy this for the baby?” and telling every stranger she met, “Did you know my mama’s having a baby?”.

To say she was excited was a bit of an understatement.

“How’d you sleep?” Wes asked as Josie snuggled into his side. “Any funny dreams?”

Josie immediately launched into a story about a dancing dragon, with Wes acting as fascinated as if she’d discovered the cure for cancer.  Laurel tried to listen, but her thoughts immediately wandered as she continued to think of more possible names.  Now that it was on her mind, she couldn’t seem to think about anything else.  

Josie had been easy. Once they found out she was a girl they knew her middle name would be Rose and Laurel’s Abuela, her mom’s mom and one of Laurel’s favorite people in the world, was Josephina.  As soon as she mentioned the name Wes had latched on, and that was that. Josie she was.

“You know what,” said Laurel, running her hand through Josie’s hair as she looked up at Wes. “There is someone we haven’t asked for suggestions from yet.”

Wes’ eyes widened in understanding.

“True,” he said slowly, thinking about how to approach the subject. He turned his gaze down to Josie, who was looking up at them with mild curiosity.  “Hey Jojo?”

“Yeah?”

Wes glanced up at Laurel, who nodded her approval, before continuing, “If you could pick a name your baby sister, what would you name her?”

Josie gasped as her eyes widened, her expression identical to the one Wes had given Laurel moments ago. She may have had Laurel’s tiny frame but her face was all Gibbins.

“Can we call her Tiana?” she asked hopefully.  

They should have seen that one coming. Michaela had introduced Josie to Princess and the Frog a couple months ago and now it was all about Tiana in their house. Josie had even been Tiana for Halloween (Laurel and Wes had dressed up as frogs).

A laugh escaped Laurel’s mouth before she could stop herself.  

“That’s one idea,” she said, smiling at Wes over Josie’s head.  “Do you have any others? Just so we have some options.”

“Options?” Josie asked, confused.

“Yeah, like choices.”

“Oh,” said Josie, nodding in understanding.  She sat up and thought for a moment, biting her lower lip in concentration.  

“What about Isabel?”

“Isabel,” Laurel repeated, letting the name linger on her lips. She had to admit, it was cute.  And, judging by the look on Wes’ face, he thought so too. “I like that.”

“Me too,” said Wes, his goofy smile appearing on his face. “Where’d you come up with that one, Peanut?”

“My friend Alex’s sister’s name is Isabel. She’s really cool. She lets us play with her even though she’s in third grade and we’re in first,” Josie replied with a shrug.

“She does sound pretty cool,” he nodded.

“Wait,” Laurel backtracked, looking from Wes to Josie. “Did we all just agree on a name?”

“I think we did,” replied Wes.

“Uh-huh,” nodded Josie, her and Wes smiling identical smiles.

“So that’s it? Her name is Isabel?” asked Laurel, an air of excited finality in her voice.

“Yeah,” smiled Wes. “Isabel Grace.”

Isabel Grace.  The more Laurel thought about it the more she loved it.

“Thank God,” she said, relief washing over her.

“Hi baby Isabel,” cooed Josie, once again leaning over and talking to Laurel’s belly.  Once again Laurel’s heart melted watching Josie interact with her sister.

“You wanna feel her kick?” Laurel asked, her eyes sparkling with both excitement and relief at finally deciding on a name.  Josie nodded, causing Laurel to take her hand and place it right where the baby was currently kicking up a storm. Josie’s eyes lit up as she felt the baby move under her hand.

“This is so cool,” she exclaimed, wonder filling her voice. Once again Laurel looked up at Wes to see him watching Josie with the exact same excitement.

“Yeah it’s pretty amazing, huh?” said Wes.  He leaned closer to Josie and put his hand on top of hers.

“You think she’ll look like me?” asked Josie.

“Maybe,” Wes replied.

“I hope so,” said Laurel, “Then I’d have two beautiful girls who look like their Papa.”

Josie looked over at Wes, smiling his smile. “I’m glad I look like you, Papa.”

“Thanks Peanut,” said Wes, kissing her on the cheek before lifting her by the shoulders and propelling her off of the bed. “You want some breakfast?”

“Mm-hmm,” Josie nodded, landing on the floor with a small thump. “Can we have pancakes?”

“You got it,” said Wes, swinging his legs off the bed and lifting himself up. But before he could get too far, Laurel grabbed his hand.

“Hey,” she said.  He turned around, a surprised grin flickering onto his face.

“Yeah?”

She squeezed his hand and returned his smile.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, babe,” he said as he leaned over and kissed her forehead, “Love you too.”

[stringbeanreads-blog]

stringbeanreads august wrap up!

Hello everyone! I can’t believe the end of August is actually here- it honestly feels like this month has gone on forever! That being said, since it felt so long I was able to do a TON of reading this month- 15 books in fact! WAY more than I was expecting to achieve! Since I’m starting my first year of university in the coming week, I’m not sure how much time I’ll have for reading next month, so I’m excited that I did as much as I did in August! So, without any further ado, let us get into my August 2017 wrap up!

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan - 4/5 stars

I listened to the audiobook for Brain on Fire in the first few days of August while I worked some early morning shifts at work, and enjoyed it! I haven’t read a piece of nonfiction in a while, and found Brain on Fire incredibly interesting. Following Susannah’s story as she and her family attempt to unravel the mystery that is her medical condition was intriguing, and heartbreaking. I’m usually not a fan of things that have medical themes in them, but this wasn’t the case for Brain on Fire! However, as I listened to the audiobook, I found myself extremely put off by the narrator, and very much disliked her. I didn’t find the use of badly imitated accents for every person who didn’t have an American accent necessary, and took me out of the story.

False Hearts by Laura Lam- 2/5 stars

(Taken from my Goodreads review) I really wish that I had liked this book more. I'd been hearing really great things across multiple platforms, and when it came available at my library I was super excited to pick it up. Unfortunately, I found that this book was incredibly slow and incredibly predictable. It honestly felt like nothing happened until the last 60 pages. While the plot was a neat idea, and the world was very interesting, overall it wasn't executed well. I didn't enjoy the writing style of Taema, but I did really like the chapters from Tila's perspective- in fact, that is the one reason I stuck it out until the end. While I can see why so many people loved this book, it just wasn't for me.

Wildman by J.C. Geiger - 4/5 stars

This book seriously surprised me- that is, I liked it way more than I expected to! I was completely enraptured by the writing style, and while I didn’t necessarily enjoy the main character, Lance, I found his story compelling and loved following him through his journey of discovery. I enjoyed the cast of characters SO much- they were all so interesting and flawed and real. However, I hated the whole “manic-pixie-dream-girl” thing we had goin on. I hate that trope, which is why I’m still shocked that I liked this book as much as I did. Nonetheless, Wildman is certainly on my list of 2017 favourites.

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher - 4/5 stars

This was a super quick and fun read! I absolutely adore Carrie Fisher, and miss her with every ounce of my being, so I really thought that Wishful Drinking was going to make me cry and fill me with nostalgia, but instead it filled me with joy and made me laugh! A very nice, light read with heavy subject matter that I would recommend to any Carrie Fisher fan.

The Princess DIarist by Carrie Fisher - 4/5 stars

Yes, I did read two of Carrie Fisher’s books back to back this month, except I listened to The Princess Diarist on audiobook while at work. Again, I really expected to cry while listening to Carrie speak about Star Wars, but instead it opened my eyes to a whole different side to the franchise. Listening to her daughter read Carrie’s diary entries was very interesting and left me wanting more.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan - 4/5 stars

What a fun start to a series! After rereading The Lightning Thief in July, I decided to pick up Magnus Chase after seeing that it is part of the Young Reader’s Choice Awards for 2018! It was a fun book that I read fairly quickly, and it left me wanting more after I finished it. Although some of the story felt a tad predictable (which I will forgive due to the series being middle grade, and because of how much I love Rick Riordan,) it was FUNNY. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book! I can’t wait to continue on with the rest of the series, and the rest of Rick Riordan’s books!

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero - 4/5 stars

(Taken from my Goodreads review) I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would! It was a fun read, with an interesting writing style and format that kept me engaged. I adored watching Gabi find her passion for writing and poetry throughout her story and watching her fall in love with the people around her. My only issue came in the very beginning, where Gabi and another character use the R slur to describe two disabled people, and in a very derogatory manor. While this doesn't show up any other point in the book, I was very close to putting it down because of this one instance. I understand that Gabi is in high school, and some teenagers speak like that, but overall I felt like it was completely unnecessary. Other than that, I enjoyed this book!

Dreadnought by April Daniels - 4/5 stars

(Taken from my Goodreads review) What a wonderful story!! We need more books like this- an unapologetic trans lesbian?? Yes PLEASE!! The plot was really cool, the characters were interesting and had me continually guessing about who they would turn out to be, but sometimes the teen angst got to be a bit much. Obviously I can forgive the angst cuz like, Danny has an extremely difficult situation on her hands, so it's understandable. I found myself skimming the action scenes near the end, but I think that's just because action isn't my favourite genre. All in all, a fun and important read, and I am excited to read the next one!

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt - 5/5 stars

I cannot believe that I almost didn’t pick this book up. Truthfully? This is now tied for my favourite book of all time- that is how much I adored this novel. God, it was so hard hitting. This was another story that surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. I was expecting to like it, but certainly was not ready for the intensity with which I fell head over heels for it. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, and the characters were just so real and tangible. The complexity of the relationships in this novel blew me out of the water. Such an honest and beautiful novel that has left me in a bit of a slump since I finished it! (I haven’t cried this hard after finishing a book since I finished TFiOS 5 years ago…)

Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis - 3/5 stars

This just simply wasn’t the book for me. I listened to the audiobook, which may have hindered my reading experience due to multitasking while listening, but I just found myself uninterested and disengaged from the story. An interesting plot for sure, but just not the type of book I find myself drawn to.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan - 4/5 stars

Again, another fun, light, and fast paced Rick Riordan book that I enjoyed! I found this book more predictable than the first one, but liked it nonetheless. I am very excited to see where the 3rd book goes and can’t wait to see more development from this cast of characters, Alex specifically!

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke - 3/5 stars

I listened to the audiobook for Wink Poppy Midnight and enjoyed the fact that it was a cast of narrators rather than just one. Poppy’s narrator bothered me just a tad but not enough for it to disrupt my reading experience. The writing in this novel is very interesting- at times I was astonished by the language and the flow, and sometimes I was sitting there thinking “really? Was that really the best way to construct that idea?” I was certainly intrigued from the beginning but found myself constantly annoyed with the characters. The relationships felt forced, and the ending seemed rushed and tied the story up oddly and left me unsatisfied. I was really hoping that the story would turn into a spooky, paranormal, thriller type but instead was tied up with a lazy “teens playing pranks” bow. Also not a fan of the lowkey queerbaiting between Wink and Poppy- could’ve done without the two girls kissing for “shock value.”

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock - 4/5 stars

Check out my review that I posted earlier this week here to see my thoughts!

Kids of Appetite by David Arnold - 3/5 stars

I read Arnold’s other book, Mosquitoland, in 2016 and really enjoyed it, and was really hoping that I would feel the same way about Kids of Appetite, but unfortunately this one fell a bit short for me. It’s your classic YA contemporary- main character loses parent due to illness and is sent on a wild goose chase in order to find peace and to fulfill said parent’s wishes, meets a band of misfits along the way and befriends them, and falls in love with the manic-pixie-dream-girl who sees him for who he really is. In all honesty, I was bored while reading this, but it did make me laugh. I liked most of the characters, and that was the main reason I pushed through until the end. I, for one, am a complete sucker for the “found family” trope, and for that reason I loved the relationships between the KOA. Overall, a fine book, but I certainly enjoyed Mosquitoland better.

Summerlost by Ally Condie - 3/5 stars

I couldn’t place where I had heard Ally Condie’s name before, and then I remembered: Matched, a book I seriously disliked when I read it in junior high despite the praise of what felt like everyone around me. Luckily, I made that connection after I finished listening to Summerlost, because honestly that would’ve stopped me from picking it up if I had realized sooner. That being said, I enjoyed Summerlost, but found it way too simplistic for my liking- writing style, plot, everything. I thought this was going to be a YA novel, but it is very clearly middle grade. I wanted to see more from both our main character’s families- Cedar’s before the novel begins, and Leo’s while the novel progressed. I wanted to know more about Ben and his relationship to not only Cedar, but Miles and their parents as well. I felt like this book could’ve easily been a 4 or 4.5 star if certain aspects had been expanded on.

I’m also currently reading The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, and about 80% through the audiobook for Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert!

Well, that’s all for this month! I’m honestly exhausted thinking about how much I read this month. Thanks for reading! 

Q: What was your favourite book that you read this month? What’s on your TBR for September? Let me know!